The fog thickened, swallowing their silhouettes one by one. Time felt long for those who had been walking for almost twenty minutes without a clear direction. The forest felt unfamiliar, silent, with only the occasional sound of a twig breaking from somewhere.
"Stop for a moment..." Hana gasped, holding the shoulder of one of the limping students.
"We can't keep running without a direction like this..."
Raven turned quickly, his eyes sharp behind the fog. "If we stop now, we'll just be easy targets. Either for wild animals... or those people from earlier.
" His voice was low but sharp. "If they're still chasing us, we don't have much time."
"Then where do we go?!" Theo shouted, sweat pouring down his face.
Raven looked up, her eyes scanning the darkness between the trees. She caught a glimpse of something, a large rock towering with a gaping black hole in the middle. Behind the thin fog, it looked like a giant mouth waiting for its prey.
"There," he said, pointing.
Without further ado, they approached, pushing through thorny bushes and slippery roots. As they got closer, it became clear that it was a cave, its mouth large but partially covered by fallen rocks. A damp smell immediately hit them as they stood in front of it.
"Get in!" Raven ordered.
Karin hesitated. "Is it safe? What if... there's something inside?"
"It's safer than outside," Raven replied coldly.
He took out a flashlight and turned it on, illuminating the entire cave, and they began to step inside. The flashlight's beam bounced off the stone walls, revealing a depth that seemed safe for the moment.
Raven stepped forward first. One by one, they followed. The sound of footsteps echoed in the cave, mixed with heartbeats that seemed to fill the space.
Once everyone was inside, Theo and Kyle immediately moved large rocks to conceal the entrance. Some of them turned on their flashlights and cell phones to illuminate the cave.
When they finally sat down leaning against the cold wall, silence descended again. But this time, it was not despair but alertness.
Everyone stared at Raven.
Outside, fog still covered the forest. And somewhere, the people who had thrown the spears earlier were probably tracking their trail.
Silence hung in the cave, accompanied only by the sound of water dripping from the walls and the heavy breathing of people crowded into the narrow space. The smell of wet earth stung their noses, the cold penetrated their clothes.
Some students sat hugging their knees, others were busy checking the bags they had looted from the bus. Some cried softly, some prayed silently. In the corner, a girl vomited because of the smell of blood still clinging to her shoes.
Raven sat slightly apart, his back against the rock, his eyes fixed on the mouth of the cave, which they had closed with a pile of rocks. His gaze was sharp, calculating, as if he were thinking about a thousand things.
Theo, who had been looking down, finally raised his head. His face was pale, his eyes puffy. His voice broke softly, but it was enough to break the oppressive silence.
"Why... do those people want to kill us?"
Silence enveloped the room again. The question hung in the air, slapping everyone who heard it.
There was no answer. Only exchanged glances, full of fear and questions. Some who had been busy were now silent.
"Why...?" Theo repeated, this time louder. His voice made some people frown, even hold their breath.
Amidst the confusion, another voice was heard, soft but piercing.
"Hey... didn't Raven... in the grassy park warn us about something?"
All heads slowly turned. A student stared sharply at Raven, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes," continued another,
his voice trembling but full of suspicion, "I remember clearly... he suddenly shouted, as if he knew the driver was going to die. That's... strange, right?"
Whispers began to be heard, like small embers blown by the wind. The stares that had been blank now focused on one person: Raven.
Kyle, who was sitting not far from Raven, clenched his fists, ready to defend her. If it weren't for Raven, they might all have died on the bus. But before he could open his mouth, a soft hand held his arm back. It was Karin.
"Not yet," she whispered softly, her eyes never leaving Raven.
Even Karin, who had been close to Raven from the start, was now filled with curiosity. In another corner, Lisa also stared with a similar expression.
Raven himself was silent. His head was bowed, cold sweat dampening his temples. He wanted to answer, but the words wouldn't come out. How could he explain something he didn't even understand himself?
Because in reality, ever since they arrived at this place, something had changed.
As his head throbbed violently inside the bus, all his senses suddenly became heightened. He could sense things that were invisible, a cold breeze, the faint scent of blood, and a bone-chilling intent to kill. It came from the direction of the driver, from the direction of the people they now called pursuers.
Raven gritted her teeth. The memory came back, accompanied by a strange feeling that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, as if something inside her that had long been locked away was slowly awakening.
And as the atmosphere grew more tense, when the whispers began to sound like demands, a voice cut through the air.
"Stop, all of you!" Hanna's loud voice made all heads turn at once.
"What exactly are you guys talking about here?" Hanna's voice broke the tension, firm and piercing.
"It's not like that, Hana... but how could he—" someone tried to answer, but Hanna's voice cut in again, louder than before.
"Enough!" she said, her voice echoing in the dark cave. She stepped forward, her gaze sweeping sharply across those who had been whispering.
"The Raven I know is always sensitive to her surroundings. Didn't she warn you? Who listened? No one! Instead, you laughed and mocked her, right?"
Hanna approached one of the students who had been most vocal. The girl's eyes flashed, cold and piercing. "And now? After she tried to save your lives, you think she's weird?"
No one dared to answer. Only the sound of heavy, suppressed breathing could be heard.
"If you accuse Raven of being weird,"
Hana continued, her voice now softer but far more dangerous,
"when she was the one trying to protect you, then you're no different from a bunch of cowardly trash. Blaming others just to cover up your own fear."
Several students looked down, cold sweat running down their temples.
Everyone was shocked that this wasn't the Hanna they knew. The figure who was usually graceful and friendly, who always politely rejected men, now stood like a queen ready to execute anyone who opposed her.
Kyle, Lisa, and Karin could only look at each other, speechless. They knew Hanna as a girl who always spoke softly, but this time... another side of her had emerged.
In the corner of the room, Raven smiled slightly. For the first time since earlier, her heart felt a little relieved.
Kevin, who had been watching, couldn't hide his surprise. His gaze was fixed on Hana, admiring her decisiveness, a side he had never seen before.
However, behind that admiration, a hollow void formed in his chest. Hana's words, spoken just now to defend Raven, had struck deep. A strange thought flashed through his mind.
If I were in that position… would Hana defend me in the same way?